It is well known that lines must be created on many types of athletic fields. This would include yard lines and hash marks on football fields, boundary lines on soccer fields, foul lines, batters"" boxes, coaching boxes, and the like on baseball fields, and many others. These lines are created by special line marking devices which deposit a layer of lime or the like as the device is moved along the predetermined path of the line to be made. Sometimes a taut line is stretched between perimeter points relating to the line to be made, and the line marking device is pushed along the taut string to insure that the marking material is accurately deposited on the desired path of the line to be made.
Some attempts have been made to identify these perimeter points by driving pegs or the like at the perimeter points and stretching a string therebetween to serve as a guide for making the desired line. This process has certain shortcomings including the fact that the pegs often get covered with dirt or other debris and cannot be easily found. Sometimes the pegs present a possible source of injury to players to the extent that they may protrude upwardly from the ground surface.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a method and means for locating perimeter points for lines on athletic fields wherein the perimeter points can be easily marked with a permanent identifier which is always fully visible, safe for the persons using the athletic field, and very permanent in nature.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
A method of identifying perimeter markings for lines on athletic fields involves locating two or more perimeter points on a line of an earthen athletic field comprising a ground surface; drilling a vertical hole in the earth in said points; placing a flexible elongated marking rope with a ground anchor on one end thereof longitudinally into each of the holes so that the ground anchor is in the lower end of the hole, and so that the upper portion of the rope extends from the hole above the ground surface. Loose material, such as loose dirt, is packed into the hole around the ropes whereupon the upper portions of the ropes above the ground surface will serve as visible indicators of the location of the points.
The rope is a plastic rope of polyethylene or the like which is six to eight inches long. It has a ground anchor on one end. The ground anchor is positioned in the lower end of the hole drilled in the earthen surface and serves to anchor the rope in the hole when loose dirt or the like is packed into the hole around the upwardly extending rope.
A tool for inserting the elongated rope into the hole has an elongated hollow tube slightly longer than the rope. The tube has upper and lower ends. A stop element is mounted on the outside of the tube adjacent the upper end to limit the downward movement of the tube into the hole. A transverse handle is mounted on the upper end of the tube for facilitating the pushing of the tube into the hole. The rope is positioned within the tube with the anchor on the rope at the lower end of the tube. The upper end of the rope extends above the stop element. The tube of the tool with the rope inserted therein is pushed into the bored hole, and when the anchor is at the desired depth as governed by the stop element, the tool is lifted out of the hole leaving the rope deposited in the hole.